Subsmash: the mysterious disappearance of HM submarine ''Affray''

In April 1951, the disappearance of HM submarine Affray knocked news of the Korean War and Festival of Britain from the front pages of national newspapers. Affray had put to sea on a routine peacetime simulated war patrol in the English Channel. She radioed her last position at 21.15hrs on 16 April, 30 miles south of the Isle of Wight - and preparing to dive. This was the last signal ever received from the submarine. When divers eventually discovered Affray, they found her resting upright on the sea bottom with no obvious signs of damage to her hull. Hatches were closed tight and emergency buoys were still in their casings. It was obvious that whatever had caused Affray to sink, and had ended the lives of all those on board, had occurred quickly. Sixty years later, in this compelling maritime investigation, Alan Gallop uses previously top secret documents, interviews with experts and contemporary news sources to explore how and why Affray became the last British submarine lost at sea - and possibly the greatest maritime mystery since the Marie Celeste.